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Jurgen Klopp has always used the League Cup to show who’s next at Anfield.
Since the Reds boss has been in charge at Anfield, he has given players like Harvey Elliott, Curtis Jones and Neco Williams playing time to signal the start of his move to the first team.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s debut for Liverpool senior came in competition, while Ki-Jana Hoever scored his only goal for the club in a third-round tie at MK Dons 12 months ago.
Goalkeeper Caoihmin Kelleher’s three appearances so far with the senior team came during last year’s run to the quarterfinals.
And the youngest Reds team in history was played at Aston Villa due to extenuating circumstances of Liverpool’s participation in two competitions more than 4,000 miles apart in less than 24 hours last December.
Klopp, of course, is not alone in his plans to let the youngsters sharpen up in England’s secondary cup competition.
Such a practice has been common for many years in the top flight, but it seems that it is not only on the field that the League Cup is being used to prepare potential.
For the second season in a row, the Carabao Cup media roles appear to be extended as part of the tenure of assistant coach Pep Lijnders.
The Dutchman was flown in Klopp’s place for Thursday’s trip to Lincoln City and as it is becoming increasingly common, he was impressed in front of the assembled press.
Last year, Lijnders sat in front of journalists and was fascinated by passionate and spontaneous responses about the club’s identity on the pitch and beyond.
“We are trying to create a new generation,” he said as the Reds prepared to visit MK Dons a year ago.
“We don’t see substitutes or substitute players, we see game changers.
“If you want to compete in five competitions, everyone has to be prepared and feel that responsibility.”
In the true spirit of the League Cup, it was an eye-catching performance from a highly skilled young man tipped for great things.
The then 36-year-old had no time for snippets of headlines or comments that could have been deliberately misinterpreted.
Lijnders simply wanted to talk about football, the Liverpool project and the importance of competition for next season.
A year later, he was back in the big chair, this time greeted by the faces of the media gathered only on a Zoom call.
But he was no less fascinating in his rhetoric, which makes it easy to see why he is so respected behind the doors of Melwood.
Once again, Lijnders was measured, articulate and concise about Klopp’s plans for the trip to Sincil Bank on Thursday night.
“The way we have evolved our team in recent years gives us more opportunities to attack this competition,” he said.
“The last few years we have talked about giving [young] talent an opportunity. This phase is gone.
“These players who were talented at the time are players who now represent a position in our squad and have a very important role to play. We feel we are ready.
“Tomorrow’s team will be a strong team. I feel like some of you will be surprised, to be honest.”
At a time when some continue to speculate on what Liverpool’s setup looks like after Jurgen Klopp, it’s interesting to see how Lijnders continues to flourish under the Anfield glare.
Klopp has always used the League Cup to show who’s next, and that seems to extend to the bench as well.
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